Convertible fubniture



T. F. KELLY}.

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 4. I919.

Patented Oct. 7,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

T. F. KELLY.

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4. l9l9.

Patented Oct. 7, 1919 2 sums-shear 2.

. likely to result in damage to the parts.

THOMAS F.'KELLY, OF CLINTON, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF O1\TEHALF TO JOSEPH A.KELLY, OF CLINTON, IOWA.

CONVERTIBLE FURNITURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. '7, 1919.

Application filed February 4, 1919. Serial No. 274,932.

niture and is more especially an improvement upon the structuredisclosed in Patent Number 1,270,839, issued to W. J. Kelly on July 2nd,1918.

In a structure of the kind mentioned there .is provided a main structureor housing supporting a stationary davenport seat and the back of saldseat is movably mounted.

and is formed of folded sections which, when extended over and beyondthe stationary seat, form a bed. For the purpose of facilitating themovement of the bed sections separate springs have been provided withinthe housing or main structure at the sides thereof but, in order toinsure operation of the parts and prevent the parts from being pulledout of line and binding, it has been necessary to exercise considerablecare and skill in adjusting the springs at the factory. Very often,however, one of the springs is weaker than the other and after thedevice has been in use for a time the parts will begin to bind and willnot operaction of the equalizer.

ate properly because of the unequal pulls exerted by the'springs at thetwo sides of the device. This'necessitates readjustment by an expert,causes dissatisfaction, and is It is an object of the present invention-;to provide a novel form of equalizer and -bufier or cushion which issubstituted for the separate springs heretofore used and whichconstantly equalizes the pull exerted at the two sides of the device sothat no A further services ofa skilled mechanic, and which not only actsto prevent the folded parts from slamming shut but at the same timeyieldingly stops the movement of the parts just before being brought'toshut position and isput under tension when the parts are completelyshut, thereby acting to open -the structure automatically for a shortdis tance when it is unlocked. With the foregoing and other objects inthree view which will appear as the. description proceeds, the inventionconsists of certain novel details of construction and combinations ofparts which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out inthe claims, it being understood that various changes may be made in theconstruction and arrangement of the parts without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as setforth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a beddavenport having the present improvements embodied therein, the nearside of the main structure or housing being removed and the device beingshown extended for use as a bed.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the device folded, parts being removed.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation showing the position of the equalizer whenthe device is extended for use as a bed.

I Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the positions of the parts when thebed is folded.

Fig. 5 is a detail view of a portion of the equalizer.

Fig. 6 is a view showing, in diagram, the

Referring to the figures by characters of or housing of the article offurniture and a seat B is fixedly mounted therein. Said seat has a spacebetween it and the sides of the structure A for the reception of thearms C which are fixedly secured to and extend downwardly from the innerend section D of the bed portion of the device. This bed portion is madeup preferably of sections hingedly connected and adapted to foldtogether to form the back structure of the device when used as a'davenport. As the bed sections, other than section I), constitute inthemselves no part of the present invention it has not been deemednecessary to show or describe them all, although in addition to thesection D a :portion of an adjoining section E has like- -w1se beenillustrated.

tween the seat B and the sides of structure A when the back structure isswung forwardly or backwardly relative to the seat B.v

Secured to the inner end of the section D at the sides thereof are arms1 which extend beyond the said end of the section. o Brackets 2 aresecured to the back of the seat B at the sides thereof and preferablyproject slightly above the back of the seat as shown. A rod or togglelink 3 is pivotally connected to each of the arms 1 preferably by meansof an eye l seated loosely within an opening in the arm, and another rodor toggle link '5 is similarly connected to each bracket 2. Therodsorlinks 3 and 5 are thus arranged in pairs and their adjoining endsare provided with eyes 6 which are fitted loosely within eyes 7 formedin the ends of rods 8. These rods, in turn, are connected by a coiledspring 9 and, as shown, one of the rods 8 can be'formed of two threadedsections connected bya turnbuckle 10. 'Thus the tension of the springcan be varied at will. 7 Y

The action of the equalizer and cushion is as follows: When the bedsections are extended horizontally as shown in Figs. land "3, the spring9 pulls equally upon all ofthe rods or links 8 and 5 but the'spring isnot strong enough to pull the back end of the sectionD downwardly.VAfter the sections of the bed have been folded together so as to besupported on the section D anddirectly over the seat section B, the saidbed sections-are swung backwardly and clownwardly to the position shownin Figs. 2 r

and 4. This causes the arms 1 to swing downwardly to position belowthebrackets 2 and as the distance betweenthe arms 1 and brackets 2increases during this movement, the links of each pair will swingrelative to eachother so as to increase the angle be tween them andpull, through the rods 8, upon the spring 9. The tension of the springwill thus be increased and the parts --sliift it to balanced positionwhere it can" are so adjusted that the weight of theclosingsections'will be balanced by the spring just prior to thearrival'of thesections to closed position within the back of the structure A. Thisresults in the gradual stop-v ping of the folded sections when moved to"closed position and the elimination of slam- 'ming. To completely closethe structure it becomes necessary to press baclc on the sec tion D soasto further increase the distance ebetween the ar ms 1 andibrackets 2and correspondingly increase the tension of the spring. vAny suitablelock can 'be provided for holding-the back in 'closed'position, as showngenerally at 11. When the section-Di is unlocked the spring 9 Willautomatically be grasped readily and opened out to form an'extension bedas before described.

-. Importance is attached to the fact that :the single springequalizes'the'rpull upon all erly centered. The tension of the springcan be varied readily by means of the turnbuckle and the construction issimplified and the entire structure made more eflicient by the use ofthe improvement.

- hat isrclaimed is r 1. The combination with a seat, of a back sectionhingedly connected thereto and adapted to swing to positionthereover,and equalizing means for facilitating the movement of'said section fromeither extreme position, for cushioning said section when approachingone extreme position, and for counterbalancing said section beforereach: ingits other extreme position, saidmeans including separatetoggles connecting the rear portions of said seat and section, and aspring connecting the toggles and fastening means for holding the backsection in the'last named extreme position when thrust past itscounterbalanced position, {thereby to hold the spring under increasedtension. 2. The combination with a seat, of aback section hingedlyconnected to the seat and movable to position over the seat and intoupstandingposition at the back of the seat, said section, when inupstandingposition, having its lower portion extended below the seat,and equalizing means for facilitating the movement of said section fromeither extreme position, for cushioningsaidsec- 'tion when approachingone extreme position, and for counterbalancing saidsection beforereaching its'other extreme position, said means including togglesconnecting the rear portion of the seat to the back or bottom end of theback section, and a spring 'connectionbetween the toggles, said backsection being movable past its counterbalanced position to increasedtension. 7 a

a 3. The combination with seat and a movable back section, of equalizingmeans for facilitating themovement ,of'the back section from either oftwo extreme positions, for cushioning said back section when place thespring under approaching one extreme position, and for counterbalancingsaid section before reaclr ing its other extreme positlon, sal-d meansincluding a'toggl'e adj acen-t each s de of the 'back ofthe seat, oneend of -each toggle being connected to the seat, and 'a 'spring to:swing upwardly 'bac'kwardly relay 7 tive to the seat to shift thetoggles and place the springnnder tension to counterbalance the backsection and thence past, "counter-'- balanced position to place the;spring under {increased tension. V

4.- The combination wlth a isection movable to position overthe seat" Ito constitute a bed section" and to upstand ing position above the backof the seat to constitute a seat back, said section, when in upstandingposition having its lower end projecting below the top of the seat andmeans extending transversely of the seat adjacent the back thereof, foryieldingly connecting the seat and the back section, said meansincluding toggles connected to the top portion of the back of the seatat the sides thereof and to said lower end of the upstanding backsection, and an adjustable spring connection between the toggles andparallel with the back of the seat and with the inner end of the backsection, said toggles and spring being adapted to swing about theirconnections with the seat during the upward and downward movement of theback section relative to the seat, thereby to cushion the back sectionwhen brought to one extreme position and t0 counterbalance said backsection prior to reaching its other extreme position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature.

THOMAS F. KELLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G."

